


Seeing Her

by thought_criminal



Category: The Walking Dead - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-11 21:41:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4453430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thought_criminal/pseuds/thought_criminal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beth makes it out of Grady alive. Coda through the eyes of four different characters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rick

**Author's Note:**

> Another Beth lives fic? I know, I know. I just can’t help myself. Enjoy.

“Beth don’t.” Daryl’s voice is firm and it catches me off guard. He grabs her arm, pulling her into his chest like he’s trying to shield her from Dawn’s glare. They look at each other for a while before he leans down and whispers something into her ear. I can’t quite make it out, but it seems to make Beth calm down slightly. And I can see she’s finally letting herself feel more comfortable. She casts one final glance at Noah as we turn to leave, her eyes asking for his forgiveness. Noah nods, because he knows she’s with her family now, even if she treats us like she barely remembers us. But I can’t find it in myself to blame her.

Back at the prison Beth was like a daughter to me, but after the months apart it feels like I don’t even know her anymore. The innocence she once carried with her is gone. She’s no longer the girl who sings. But really, I don’t know why I expected her to be.

She gravitates towards Daryl as we walk back down the long hallway and down a flight of stairs to the exit. Her and Daryl linger behind the group, whispering to each other secrets I couldn’t even begin to guess. I glance back at them, more often than I should, because before the prison fell they’d only spoken a handful of words to each other. Something changed when they got out together. And I remember seeing how worn Daryl looked after he lost her. When Terminus was still the light at the end of the tunnel. 

They weren’t lovers, no, I could tell that much by the hesitant way their hands brush against one another. But they were something. They were a hell of a lot more than I assumed.


	2. Maggie

When Michonne tells me Beth’s alive I don’t know what to say, do, think. My baby sister. I had accepted her death a while ago. Because hope is dangerous in this world. It distracts you, keeps you from moving on. Keeps you from living.

We load up in the truck and every mile feels like an eternity. As I see our family file out the door, I run to meet them, hugging each one quickly, waiting for Beth. Carol walks out and the door closes behind her. My heart stops for a moment as I don’t see it reopen. But then Beth walks out, clutching onto Daryl’s sleeve.

I rush over to her, dropping my gun, almost stumbling over it. I begin to cry, even after I’d held it together for this long. She hugs me back, though not fully. And I can almost feel her looking at Daryl.

He lingers no more than a few feet from us, looking uncomfortable being even that far away from Beth. I want to ask him to leave, let us have our space, but I don’t. Because somehow I feel like I’m the one intruding.

“ _She’s alive._ ” He had said it with so much conviction that in that moment I couldn’t do anything but believe him. At the time I was grateful he was holding it together for me. But seeing them now, seeing the way he looks at her, I know it wasn’t me he was holding it together for. 


	3. Carol

Before I can do anything to stop her Daryl’s already grabbing Beth by the arm, pulling her away from Dawn. I see Beth relax in his touch, but she’s still pissed, still has that newfound fire in her eyes that seems almost impossible to stomp out. The fire I used to see in Daryl. A fire that was dangerous not only to him, but to the rest of the group. But Beth knows how to control her rage. Knows to aim it at the right people. 

She looks at Daryl, and for a split second I see her expression soften. He leans down and for a moment I think he might kiss her, but his lips divert to her ear, and I note the hint of disappointment laced in Beth’s features.

Daryl stays no more than a few feet away from Beth, even when Maggie’s sobbing into her shoulder. I see the way Daryl looks at her. Not unlike how Shane looked at Lori. Or how Glenn looks at Maggie. As soon as Maggie lets her sister go Daryl snatches her away, tugging at her sleeve like a child. They rejoin the group, but stand together as if they were one person. Rick’s discussing what to do next, but I can’t keep my eyes off of them. Beth leans into Daryl, only slightly, but I can almost hear his heart racing. He has a new light in his eyes, so different from when I first saw him after Terminus a few months ago.

And everything starts falling into place. The sleepless nights, desperate search, the _change_ in him. And I know, in this moment, that Beth Greene is maybe the only person in the world that’s keeping Daryl going. 


	4. Daryl

I have to bite my cheek to keep from crying. She’s so close, standing across the hall. And even though her whole family is with me her eyes lock with mine. She’s all I can think about. To see her is heaven, and to touch her again is more than I could ever wish for. She’s walking over now and even though Rick’s hugging her she’s still looking at me. I don’t know whether to laugh, cry, pray. But I know that she’s standing in front of me, alive and well, and she’s looking at me like I’m her favorite thing in the world. 

As we’re leaving the hospital she tells me she missed me, quiet enough so the rest of the group doesn’t hear. And it makes me feel like I’m in grade school again. I just nod, afraid if I tell her how I really feel I won’t be able to contain my tears. She senses my unease but doesn’t question it, settling comfortably next to me. Our fingers brush, sending electric sparks up and down my arm. I’m tempted to grab her hand in mine. Hell, I’m tempted to pick her up and spin her around. But I know that tonight, when we’re alone, I’ll have the chance to tell her everything that’s been building up since that night at the funeral home. When I thought we might be able to spend the rest of our lives together. 

When I had lost her I’d lost a part of myself. A part that hurt so bad until now. Seeing her is heaven, and when my lips brush against hers that night, it’s more than I can ever wish for. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I have a few one-shots and a multi-chapter fic in the works. They all need editing but should be posted relatively soon.


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